Creating Engaging ELearning Programs in China

Today I had the opportunity to share the principles of Adult Learning with the staff at Project HOPE. I also talked about how to make training more interactive by incorporating sound instructional design principles. I discussed Gagne’s Principles of Learning and ARCS motivation theory. During the training session, I also gave a short primer on eLearning, how to create an eLearning course and how to convert existing instructor-led training (ILT) into an eLearning course.

Project HOPE China is moving its on-the-ground training programs, which are costly to run, to on-line training programs. The online training programs have huge upfront costs, but are not expensive to maintain and run over the long-term. The online training programs are a great cost saving measure and will create a tremendous ability to reach more health care professionals and patients.

During the training session, we spent time discussing how the team could use interactive elements in their existing training programs and what Project HOPE would need to do to prepare the Rural Training course materials for conversion to eLearning. Kudos to the Project HOPE Shanghai team! I am glad that I am part of this next phase.

I finished up the training by discussing QR Codes and how they can be used at Project HOPE. That was a hit. I created QR codes for the Project HOPE China website and my website, and I had everyone test them. The team was excited to scan the code using their cellphones and an iPad. Immediately, they were able to access the Project HOPE China website, see text messages and even business cards that I had created. I could see the wheels turning in their heads as they thought of ways to use this new tool in their training programs.